Manne is the first guest blogger here at Meadowmusic.se. Normally he writes about music on his own blog: Mannolitos Musikblogg. (in Swedish)

The Federales is one of those bands that makes me wonder. Why can’t I find their CD in the record store? Well of course, it must be sold out. Why do they play at Fight Club and ACE instead of Circus in Stockholm? Well, it must be that they prefer clubs before bigger scenes.

My answers to these questions, though, are quite incorrect. The Federales consists of 5 girls that still go to high school, and they prioritise school. They are not in a hurry with breaking through. They will eventually break through. With all certainty. The Federales is that good. And it’s not without pride when I write that they are from Sweden, from Västerås to be exact.

The Federales play a catchy and fascinating indie rock, in the style of the rock bands that flourished in the fifties, the sixties and the seventies. But it doesn’t feel outdated, on the contrary, it feels new and fresh.  Julia’s wonderful vocals is a big part of this along with great musicians. I’d like to say what my nice friend Lovisa said citing John: “It’s what all cool cats listen to and it’s what all cool younger cats will listen to when they get older looking for great music. Jag vill säga som min fina vän Lovisa sade när hon citerade John: “Det är vad alla coola katter lyssnar på och det är vad alla coola yngre katter kommer lyssna på när de blir äldre och ska se sig om efter bra musik. The music of Sweden is saved!”

I got to talk with Hanna and Lois from The Federales, and among other things we talked about what music they listen to and how it feels to be nominated for Rockbjörnen! Read the interview on my site: Mannolitos Musikblogg. (in Swedish)

Visit The Federales on MySpace to listen more.

Two songs with the Federales::

You Are
Warhead

(This post was translated from the original post in Swedish)

“Pop in 110 mph” my collegue Jesper described the music of Industri Royal, as he presented Industri Royal last summer. The 28th of January Industri Royal will release their notified debut album “Tacky Skills” (Alleycat Records), and after having listened beforehand, I find that there’s no reason to change Jesper’s overall description.

Even if it doesn’t feel retro in the sound, I would like to add the vibes of Ramones, New Wave and sometimes even the Rolling Stones of the seventies (before the disco period) and surf pop to the description. It’s a great album, full of energy, and I’m certain that no one that has heard Industry Royal before will be disappointed.

“Location Location Location” was in our earlier post, and here you get another song from “Tacky Skills”, “The Beat Boy”. Other brilliant songs are “I Can Keep a Secret” and “Lie Lie Lie”. The release party takes place the 23 of January at Scharinska in Umeå. Go there and be part of the nice euphoria in a record release. Read more about it on Industri Royal’s site and on their Myspace page.

The Beat Boy

Somteimes it’s hard to explain why you are atttracted to a certain song or a certain artist. Sure, there’s always these direct melodies and/or lyrics that cut through your heart from the first moment, but I believe they are quite few for most of us. Many times I just get a hunch of what I will like. And then when I listen again it’s most often true, because it’s something that makes me feel good, makes me wake up, feel something special or something that I can I identify myself with, something that I want to hear more of.

When I and others then write about it it’s almost always a reconstruction after the event (I think), where I try to motivate in words what it was that caught me. And many times I find the seeds to why it did and then also try to relate to you what it is that I have listened to.

And sometimes, when it doesn’t work, when the words on why and how are not there, it’s really nothing strange, since we’re not rational beings. Like with Tractor Pulling People. Something caught me the moment I heard them, and after having listened to them many times, they still feel just right for me.

I like indie rock, but I can’t say that I know the genre very well, so I’ll skip the references this time. It feels close and direct, it feels genuine and… well it feels really good.

You can listen for yourself here to their latest EP “Sketches of Dark”. For the moment they have a pause in their songwriting, but you can listen to more songs at Tractor Pulling People’s Myspace page.

June Above Par
Midtempo Approach
Grace Under Pressure

1st Liberation is from Luleå and plays rock, just like that. I can’t help being caught up in their rock energy, where I feel the vibes from AC/DC, Accept, DAD, Thin Lizzy and sometimes from glam rock. But even though all these rock templates and models exist out there, they manage to convince me that they enter the studio and then just play, straight from heart and soul. Numerous singers have screamed rock’n’roll during the years, but 1st Liberation motivates with ease that it’s motivated once more.

Here you can listen to a couple of tracks from en EP they recorded in autumn. If you’d like to read and listen more you should visit 1st Liberation’s site and their Myspace page.

Rock’n’Roll
I Got the Right to Lose My Mind

Iubar’s songs grow more and more as I listen to them. They don’t rush ahead, but carefully builds seductive ambiences, with a mixture of pop structures and oriental influences. And this mix they do really good.

If I should find som references, I would say that they combine modern melancholic pop from for example Doves, with psychadelia from the Beatles. I even think I hear a sitar somewhere, and definitely some pump organ :-)

This autumn they released their debut aIbum “Invitation II Dig” (Smilodon Records), from where you can listen to som tracks here. You’ll find Iubar on their site and on Myspace if you want to listen more.

Changes:

Invitation II Dig
Demon Jive
Horse